Fatigue: a practical approach to diagnosis in primary care.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
Jacques Cornuz
Publications and source records attributed to Jacques Cornuz.
Clustering of risk behaviors with cigarette consumption: A population-based survey.
OBJECTIVE: This study assessed clustering of multiple risk behaviors (i.e., low leisure-time physical activity, low fruits/vegetables intake, and high alcohol consumption) with level of cigarette consumption. METHODS: Data from the 2002 Swiss Health Survey, a population-based cross-sectional telephone survey assessing health and self-reported risk behaviors, were used. 18,005 subjects (8052 men and 9953 women) aged 25 years old or more participated. RESULTS: Smokers more frequently had low leisure time physical activity, low fruits/vegetables intake, and high alcohol consumption than non- and ex-smokers. Frequency of each risk behavior increased steadily with cigarette consumption. Clustering of risk behaviors increased with cigarette consumption in both men and women. For men, the odds ratios of multiple (> or =2) risk behaviors other than smoking, adjusted for age, nationality, and educational level, were 1.14 (95% confidence interval: 0.97, 1.33) for ex-smokers, 1.24 (0.93, 1.64) for light smokers (1-9 cigarettes/day), 1.72 (1.36, 2.17) for moderate smokers (10-19 cigarettes/day), and 3.07 (2.59, 3.64) for heavy smokers (> or =20 cigarettes/day) versus non-smokers. Similar odds ratios were found for women for corresponding groups, i.e., 1.01 (0.86, 1.19), 1.26 (1.00, 1.58), 1.62 (1.33, 1.98), and 2.75 (2.30, 3.29). CONCLUSIONS: Counseling and intervention with smokers should take into account the strong clustering of risk behaviors with level of cigarette consumption.
Adult↗
[The charter on medical professionalism: a salutary reminder of our values].
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Delivery of Health Care↗
A prediction rule to identify low-risk patients with pulmonary embolism.
BACKGROUND: A simple prognostic model could help identify patients with pulmonary embolism who are at low risk of death and are candidates for outpatient treatment. METHODS: We randomly allocated 15,531 retrospectively identified inpatients who had a discharge diagnosis of pulmonary embolism from 186 Pennsylvania hospitals to derivation (67%) and internal validation (33%) samples. We derived our rule to predict 30-day mortality using classification tree analysis and patient data routinely available at initial examination as potential predictor variables. We used data from a European prospective study to externally validate the rule among 221 inpatients with pulmonary embolism. We determined mortality and nonfatal adverse medical outcomes across derivation and validation samples. RESULTS: Our final model consisted of 10 patient factors (age > or = 70 years; history of cancer, heart failure, chronic lung disease, chronic renal disease, and cerebrovascular disease; and clinical variables of pulse rate > or = 110 beats/min, systolic blood pressure < 100 mm Hg, altered mental status, and arterial oxygen saturation < 90%). Patients with none of these factors were defined as low risk. The 30-day mortality rates for low-risk patients were 0.6%, 1.5%, and 0% in the derivation, internal validation, and external validation samples, respectively. The rates of nonfatal adverse medical outcomes were less than 1% among low-risk patients across all study samples. CONCLUSIONS: This simple prediction rule accurately identifies patients with pulmonary embolism who are at low risk of short-term mortality and other adverse medical outcomes. Prospective validation of this rule is important before its implementation as a decision aid for outpatient treatment.
Age Factors↗
Subclinical hypothyroidism and the risk of coronary heart disease: a meta-analysis.
PURPOSE: Subclinical hypothyroidism has been associated with elevated cholesterol and increased risk for atherosclerosis, but data on the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) are conflicting. We performed a systematic review to determine whether subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with CHD in adults. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE from 1966 to April 2005, and the bibliographies of key articles to identify studies that provided risk estimates for CHD or cardiovascular mortality associated with subclinical hypothyroidism. Two authors independently reviewed each potential study for eligibility, assessed methodologic quality, and extracted the data. RESULTS: We identified 14 observational studies that met eligibility criteria. Subclinical hypothyroidism increased the risk of CHD (summary odds ratio [OR]: 1.65, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.28-2.12). The summary OR for CHD was 1.81 (CI, 1.38-2.39) in 9 studies adjusted or matched for demographic characteristics, and 2.38 (CI, 1.53-3.69) after pooling the studies that adjusted for most cardiovascular risk factors. Sensitivity analyses including only population-based studies and those with formal outcome adjudication procedures yielded similar results. Subgroup analyses by type of study design showed a similar trend, but lower risk, in the 5 prospective cohort studies (OR 1.42, CI, 0.91-2.21), compared with the case-control and cross-sectional studies (OR 1.72, CI, 1.25-2.38). CONCLUSION: Our systematic review indicates that subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with an increased risk of CHD. Clinical trials are needed to assess whether thyroxine replacement reduces the risk of CHD in subjects with subclinical hypothyroidism.
Adolescent↗
Effectiveness of a low-intensity smoking cessation intervention for hospitalized patients.
Debate exists about how intense smoking cessation interventions for hospitalized patients should be. In this study we assessed the effectiveness of a low-intensity smoking cessation intervention for hospitalized patients, without follow-up phone calls. We designed a cohort study with a historical control group, in the Department of Medicine of an 850-bed teaching hospital. One hundred and seventeen consecutive eligible smokers received the intervention, and 113 smokers hospitalized before the implementation of the intervention constituted the historical control group. The 30-min smoking cessation intervention was performed by a trained resident without any follow-up contact. Counseling was matched to smokers' motivation to quit, and accompanied by a self-help booklet. Nicotine replacement therapy was prescribed when indicated. All patients received a questionnaire to evaluate their smoking habits 6 months after they left hospital. We counted patients lost to follow-up as continuous smokers and smoking abstinence was validated by patients' physicians. Validated smoking cessation rates were 23.9% in the intervention group and 9.7% in the control group (odds ratio 2.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.4-6.2). After adjusting for potential confounders, intervention was still effective with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.26 (95% confidence interval: 1.04-4.95). Among those who continued to smoke 6 months after hospitalization, the likelihood of reporting any decrease of cigarette consumption was higher in the intervention cohort (70.8 vs. 42.7%, P=0.001). A low-intensity smoking cessation intervention, based on two visits without any follow-up contact, is associated with a higher quit rate at 6 months than that for historical control patients. Our findings show that a low-intensity smoking cessation intervention, based on two visits without any follow-up contact, is associated with a higher quit rate at 6 months than that for historical control patients.
Adolescent↗
Counselling overweight and obese patients in primary care: a prospective cohort study.
BACKGROUND: Primary care physicians are well positioned to provide counselling for overweight and obese patients, but no prospective study has assessed the effectiveness of this counselling in primary care. We aimed to evaluate weight reduction counselling by primary care physicians, and its relationship with weight change and patients' behaviour to control weight. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study. METHODS: We enrolled 523 consecutive overweight and obese patients from two Swiss academic primary care clinics. Physicians and patients were blinded to the study aims. We assessed the use of 10 predefined counselling strategies for weight reduction, and weight change and behaviour to control weight after 1 year. RESULTS: Sixty-five per cent of patients received some form of weight reduction counselling whereas 35% received no counselling. A total of 407 patients completed the 1-year follow-up. Those who received counselling lost on average (SD) 1.0 (5.0) kg after 1 year, whereas those who were not advised gained 0.3 (5.0) kg (P = 0.02). In multivariate analysis, each additional counselling strategy was associated with a mean weight loss of 0.2 kg (95% confidence interval 0.03-0.4, P = 0.02). Patients counselled by their physician had more favourable behaviour to control weight than those not counselled, such as setting a target weight (56 versus 36%) or visiting a dietician (23 versus 10%, both P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Weight reduction counselling by primary care physicians is associated with a modest weight loss and favourable behaviour to control weight. However, many obese and overweight patients receive no advice on weight loss during primary care visits.
Adult↗
Topiramate for smoking cessation.
Due to its AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid)/kainate antagonism, topiramate would be particularly interesting in addiction treatment. Flexible-dose topiramate was prescribed to 13 smokers (10 smokers who wanted to stop smoking, and three who received topiramate for other reasons). Six out of 13 smokers were abstinent at 2 months and two more subjects had reduced their cigarette consumption by >50%. With one exception, temporary reduction of the number of smoked cigarettes preceded definitive abstinence at month 2. Three more subjects who achieved a momentary reduction had, however, to interrupt the treatment due to intolerable side-effects. Controlled trials are needed to confirm these preliminary observations.
Adult↗
Prediction of hip fracture risk by quantitative ultrasound in more than 7000 Swiss women > or =70 years of age: comparison of three technologically different bone ultrasound devices in the SEMOF study.
UNLABELLED: To compare the prediction of hip fracture risk of several bone ultrasounds (QUS), 7062 Swiss women > or =70 years of age were measured with three QUSs (two of the heel, one of the phalanges). Heel QUSs were both predictive of hip fracture risk, whereas the phalanges QUS was not. INTRODUCTION: As the number of hip fracture is expected to increase during these next decades, it is important to develop strategies to detect subjects at risk. Quantitative bone ultrasound (QUS), an ionizing radiation-free method, which is transportable, could be interesting for this purpose. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Swiss Evaluation of the Methods of Measurement of Osteoporotic Fracture Risk (SEMOF) study is a multicenter cohort study, which compared three QUSs for the assessment of hip fracture risk in a sample of 7609 elderly ambulatory women > or =70 years of age. Two QUSs measured the heel (Achilles+; GE-Lunar and Sahara; Hologic), and one measured the heel (DBM Sonic 1200; IGEA). The Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate the hazard of the first hip fracture, adjusted for age, BMI, and center, and the area under the ROC curves were calculated to compare the devices and their parameters. RESULTS: From the 7609 women who were included in the study, 7062 women 75.2 +/- 3.1 (SD) years of age were prospectively followed for 2.9 +/- 0.8 years. Eighty women reported a hip fracture. A decrease by 1 SD of the QUS variables corresponded to an increase of the hip fracture risk from 2.3 (95% CI, 1.7, 3.1) to 2.6 (95% CI, 1.9, 3.4) for the three variables of Achilles+ and from 2.2 (95% CI, 1.7, 3.0) to 2.4 (95% CI, 1.8, 3.2) for the three variables of Sahara. Risk gradients did not differ significantly among the variables of the two heel QUS devices. On the other hand, the phalanges QUS (DBM Sonic 1200) was not predictive of hip fracture risk, with an adjusted hazard risk of 1.2 (95% CI, 0.9, 1.5), even after reanalysis of the digitalized data and using different cut-off levels (1700 or 1570 m/s). CONCLUSIONS: In this elderly women population, heel QUS devices were both predictive of hip fracture risk, whereas the phalanges QUS device was not.
Aged↗
Treating tobacco use and dependence in clinical practice.
Physicians are in a unique position to advise smokers to quit by the ability to integrate the various aspects of nicotine dependence. This review provides an overview of the intervention strategies for smokers presented in a primary care setting. The strategies that are used for smoking cessation counselling differ according to the patient's readiness to quit. For smokers who do not intend to give up smoking, physicians should inform about tobacco use and the benefits of cessation. For smokers who are dissonant, physicians should use motivational strategies, such as discussing the barriers to successful cessation and their solutions. For smokers who are ready to quit, the physician should show strong support, help set a date to quit, prescribe pharmaceutical therapies for nicotine dependence, such as nicotine replacement therapy (i.e., gum, transdermal patch, nasal spray, mouth inhaler, lozenges, and micro and sublingual tablets) and/or bupropion (an atypical antidepressant thought to work by blocking the neural re-uptake of dopamine and/or noradrenaline), with instructions for use, and suggest behavioural strategies to prevent relapse. The efficacy of all of these pharmacotherapies is comparable, roughly doubling the cessation rates over control conditions.
Humans↗
International perspectives on general internal medicine and the case for "globalization" of a discipline.
General internal medicine (GIM) has flourished in the United States (U.S.). Unlike other subspecialties of internal medicine, however, GIM's evolution has not been global in scope, but rather appears to have occurred in isolation within countries. Here, we describe international models of GIM from Canada, Switzerland, Australia/New Zealand, Argentina, and Japan, and compare these with the U.S. model. There are notable differences in the typical clinical roles assumed by General Internists across these 7 countries, but also important overlap in clinical and academic domains. Despite this overlap, there has been a relative lack of contact among General Internists from these and other countries at a truly international GIM meeting; the time is now for increased international exchange and the "globalization" of GIM.
Delivery of Health Care↗
[Challenges for generalists].
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Career Choice↗
Validation of a model to predict adverse outcomes in patients with pulmonary embolism.
AIMS: To validate a model for quantifying the prognosis of patients with pulmonary embolism (PE). The model was previously derived from 10 534 US patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: We validated the model in 367 patients prospectively diagnosed with PE at 117 European emergency departments. We used baseline data for the model's 11 prognostic variables to stratify patients into five risk classes (I-V). We compared 90-day mortality within each risk class and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve between the validation and the original derivation samples. We also assessed the rate of recurrent venous thrombo-embolism and major bleeding within each risk class. Mortality was 0% in Risk Class I, 1.0% in Class II, 3.1% in Class III, 10.4% in Class IV, and 24.4% in Class V and did not differ between the validation and the original derivation samples. The area under the curve was larger in the validation sample (0.87 vs. 0.78, P=0.01). No patients in Classes I and II developed recurrent thrombo-embolism or major bleeding. CONCLUSION: The model accurately stratifies patients with PE into categories of increasing risk of mortality and other relevant complications. Patients in Risk Classes I and II are at low risk of adverse outcomes and are potential candidates for outpatient treatment.
Aged↗
Derivation and validation of a prognostic model for pulmonary embolism.
RATIONALE: An objective and simple prognostic model for patients with pulmonary embolism could be helpful in guiding initial intensity of treatment. OBJECTIVES: To develop a clinical prediction rule that accurately classifies patients with pulmonary embolism into categories of increasing risk of mortality and other adverse medical outcomes. METHODS: We randomly allocated 15,531 inpatient discharges with pulmonary embolism from 186 Pennsylvania hospitals to derivation (67%) and internal validation (33%) samples. We derived our prediction rule using logistic regression with 30-day mortality as the primary outcome, and patient demographic and clinical data routinely available at presentation as potential predictor variables. We externally validated the rule in 221 inpatients with pulmonary embolism from Switzerland and France. MEASUREMENTS: We compared mortality and nonfatal adverse medical outcomes across the derivation and two validation samples. MAIN RESULTS: The prediction rule is based on 11 simple patient characteristics that were independently associated with mortality and stratifies patients with pulmonary embolism into five severity classes, with 30-day mortality rates of 0-1.6% in class I, 1.7-3.5% in class II, 3.2-7.1% in class III, 4.0-11.4% in class IV, and 10.0-24.5% in class V across the derivation and validation samples. Inpatient death and nonfatal complications were <or= 1.1% among patients in class I and <or= 1.9% among patients in class II. CONCLUSIONS: Our rule accurately classifies patients with pulmonary embolism into classes of increasing risk of mortality and other adverse medical outcomes. Further validation of the rule is important before its implementation as a decision aid to guide the initial management of patients with pulmonary embolism.
Acute Disease↗
Atrial flutter and the risk of thromboembolism: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
PURPOSE: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies to assess the risk of thromboembolism associated with atrial flutter. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, bibliographies, and consultation with clinical experts were used to identify studies that report the risk of thromboembolism associated with attempted cardioversion and longer-term risk in chronic atrial flutter. The review process and data extraction were performed by two reviewers. Study event rates were assessed graphically, and a chi-squared test was used to assess heterogeneity across studies. Meta-regression with weighted logistic regression was used to assess the association between study-level clinical factors and reported thromboembolic event rates. RESULTS: We found 13 studies that reported the risk of thromboembolism associated with cardioversion of atrial flutter. Short-term event rates ranged from 0% to 7.3%. A chi-squared test for heterogeneity was significant (P < 0.001), so results were not pooled. Instead, a meta-regression analysis was performed, which partly explained the heterogeneity across studies. Studies were more likely to report high event rates when they included patients with a prior history of thromboembolism, and to report lower event rates when at least some patients were anticoagulated or if patients underwent echocardiography before cardioversion. Four studies reported the longer-term risk of thromboembolism, and these suggest a yearly event rate of approximately 3% with sustained atrial flutter. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that atrial flutter is indeed associated with an increased risk of thromboembolism, and that clinical factors account for the low event rates reported in some studies.
Atrial Flutter↗
Aspirin use for the primary prevention of coronary heart disease in older adults.
PURPOSE: Aspirin for the primary prevention of coronary heart disease (has a more favorable risk/benefit profile among adults with high coronary heart disease risk than among low-risk adults, but there is little information on the current patterns of aspirin use for primary prevention. We determined the prevalence of aspirin use in relation to coronary heart disease risk and changes over time. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We measured regular aspirin use in 2163 black and white older adults without cardiovascular disease in a population-based cohort from 1997 to 1998 and 2002 to 2003. We determined the 10-year coronary heart disease risk by using the Framingham risk score. RESULTS: In 1997-1998, 17% of the cohort were regular aspirin users. Aspirin use increased with coronary heart disease risk from 13% in persons with a 10-year risk less than 6% (low risk) to 23% in those with a 10-year risk greater than 20% (highest risk) (P for trend < .001). Blacks were less likely to use aspirin (13%) than whites (20%). In multivariate analysis, black race was still associated with lower aspirin use (odds ratio 0.66, 95% confidence interval 0.49-0.89). In 1997-1998 and 2002 to 2003, aspirin use increased from 17% to 32% among those still free of coronary heart disease (P < .001), and the association with coronary heart disease risk continued (P for trend < .001). Despite their high coronary heart disease risk, diabetic persons were not more likely to use aspirin than nondiabetic persons, even in 2002 and 2003 (odds ratio 0.89, 95% confidence interval 0.56-1.40). CONCLUSION: Regular use of aspirin by older adults with no history of cardiovascular disease has increased in recent years. Individuals at higher coronary heart disease risk are more likely to take aspirin, but there is room for considerable improvement in targeting those at high risk, particularly diabetic persons and blacks.
Aged↗
Evaluation of a multicomponent worksite health promotion program for cardiovascular risk factors-correcting for the regression towards the mean effect.
BACKGROUND: We assessed the impact of a multicomponent worksite health promotion program for0 reducing cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) with short intervention, adjusting for regression towards the mean (RTM) affecting such nonexperimental study without control group. METHODS: A cohort of 4,198 workers (aged 42 +/- 10 years, range 16-76 years, 27% women) were analyzed at 3.7-year interval and stratified by each CVRF risk category (low/medium/high blood pressure [BP], total cholesterol [TC], body mass index [BMI], and smoking) with RTM and secular trend adjustments. Intervention consisted of 15 min CVRF screening and individualized counseling by health professionals to medium- and high-risk individuals, with eventual physician referral. RESULTS: High-risk groups participants improved diastolic BP (-3.4 mm Hg [95%CI: -5.1, -1.7]) in 190 hypertensive patients, TC (-0.58 mmol/l [-0.71, -0.44]) in 693 hypercholesterolemic patients, and smoking (-3.1 cig/day [-3.9, -2.3]) in 808 smokers, while systolic BP changes reflected RTM. Low-risk individuals without counseling deteriorated TC and BMI. Body weight increased uniformly in all risk groups (+0.35 kg/year). CONCLUSIONS: In real-world conditions, short intervention program participants in high-risk groups for diastolic BP, TC, and smoking improved their CVRF, whereas low-risk TC and BMI groups deteriorated. Future programs may include specific advises to low-risk groups to maintain a favorable CVRF profile.
Adolescent↗
Absence of bias against smokers in access to coronary revascularization after cardiac catheterization.
OBJECTIVE: Many consider smoking to be a personal choice for which individuals should be held accountable. We assessed whether there is any evidence of bias against smokers in cardiac care decision-making by determining whether smokers were as likely as non-smokers to undergo revascularization procedures after cardiac catheterization. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. Subjects and setting. All patients undergoing cardiac catheterization in Alberta, Canada. MAIN MEASURE: Patients were categorized as current smokers, former smokers, or never smokers, and then compared for their risk-adjusted likelihood of undergoing revascularization procedures (percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting) after cardiac catheterization. RESULTS: Among 20406 patients undergoing catheterization, 25.4% were current smokers at the time of catheterization, 36.6% were former smokers, and 38.0% had never smoked. When compared with never smokers (reference group), the hazard ratio for undergoing any revascularization procedure after catheterization was 0.98 (95% CI 0.93-1.03) for current smokers and 0.98 (0.94-1.03) for former smokers. The hazard ratio for undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting was 1.09 (1.00-1.19) for current smokers and 1.00 (0.93-1.08) for former smokers. For percutaneous coronary intervention, the hazard ratios were 0.93 (0.87-0.99) for current smokers and 1.00 (0.94-1.06) for former smokers. CONCLUSION: Despite potential for discrimination on the basis of smoking status, current and former smokers undergoing cardiac catheterization in Alberta, Canada were as likely to undergo revascularization procedures as catheterization patients who had never smoked.
Alberta↗